Scholar and civil rights activist Julius Lester was born January 27, 1939 in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of a Methodist minister. Lester spent much of his childhood in Missouri, where in the 1940s and 1950s he dealt with southern attitudes about race and segregation before and during the Civil Rights movement. In … Read MoreJulius Lester (1939-2018)
Charlotte Wesley Holloman was an opera singer and voice teacher who taught at Howard University for over twenty years as the only vocal faculty member. She was a prominent opera star in Europe with credits in twenty-two operas in Germany, Switzerland, and France. After an accomplished performing career, Holloman resumed her career in music education. She returned to Washington D.C. in … Read MoreCharlotte Wesley Holloman (1922-2015)
Andrew Phillip Chambers, Jr. was a retired Lieutenant General in the United States Army. His brother Lawrence Chambers was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy and together the Chambers brothers are the first black siblings to hold flag ranks together in the United States military. Andrew … Read MoreAndrew P. Chambers, Jr. (1931-2017)
Homer Smith, Jr., best known for his fourteen-year sojourn in the Soviet Union, was born in 1909 in Quitman, Mississippi to parents Mr. and Mrs. Homer Smith, Sr. In 1916, at the age of seven, he moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota with his parents. Between 1922 and 1928, Smith studied journalism at the … Read MoreHomer Smith, Jr. (1909-1972)
Russel L. Honoré is a three-star general known for his relief work during Hurricane Katrina. He was born in Lakeland, Louisiana during a hurricane in 1947 to farmers Lloyd Honoré and Eudell St. Armant Honoré. As one of twelve children, Honoré became the first in his family to attend college … Read MoreRussel L. Honoré (1947- )
Louis Brody was a prominent German actor and musician. He was born M’bebe Mpessa in Douala, Cameroon, on February 15, 1892. Little is known about his early life in Cameroon, formerly known as Kamerun. He attended the German colonial school in Douala where he learned to speak German. It is … Read MoreLouis Brody (a.k.a. Lewis Brody), 1892-1952)
Lloyd J. Austin is the first African American to serve as U.S. Secretary of Defense. He was nominated by President Joseph Biden and confirmed by the United States Senate. A former four-star General in the U.S. Army, Austin was born in Mobile, Alabama on August … Read MoreLloyd James Austin III (1953- )
William E. “Kip” Ward is a former 4-star general. War was born in Baltimore, Maryland on March 6, 1949 to Richard Isiah Ward and Phyllis Mary Ward. He graduated from Morgan State University in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He was a distinguished ArmyROTC cadet at Morgan … Read MoreWilliam E. Ward (1949- )
Josef Nassy was an Afro-Jewish artist and Holocaust survivor. Born on January 19, 1904 in Paramaribo, Surinam (Dutch Guiana), he was one of seven children born to Adolf Philipus Nassy, a prosperous Jewish businessman who was elected to the Surinam Parliament, and Elisabeth Carolina Natalia Nassy (born de Maesschalk), … Read MoreJosef Johan Cosmo Nassy (1904-1976)
Mathematical physicist and university administrator Arlie O. Petters was born in the Central American city of Dangriga in the nation of Belize (formerly British Honduras) on February 21, 1964, the son of civil engineer Oswald Vasquez. His mother, Velina, left him when he was a child to work in the … Read MoreArlie Oswald Petters (1964- )
